Seymour PR Director Tracey Warmington, takes us through the seven news values PR people should live by.
Every organisation thinks what they’re doing is newsworthy. Unfortunately, in the broader context of the media landscape, this is not the case for the vast majority.
The average national journalist will open their inbox to 500 emails every single morning. Of these, the journalist will take three, maybe four, story ideas to their morning conference where they will pitch them to the editor.
One will end up spiked; discarded in the bin. A couple will be written up into stories, and of those, probably only one will make it to print or online. This means that for your story to have a chance of landing, you have to be in the top 1%.
But before that you get there, you have to get your pitch seen. This takes a heady combination of an attention-grabbing headline; a strong narrative and a reputation which means your email is flagged rather than deleted and your call is taken.
Putting reputation aside, there are seven building blocks to achieving a newsworthy story. The best stories don't need to include all elements but a winning combination will have at least some in order to secure headlines and grab the public and the key audiences' attention.
IMPACT:
This is the number of people (and/or businesses) whose lives will be influenced in some way by the subject of the story. For the story to be relevant to national newspapers and magazines it needs to relate to the vast majority of its readers.
TIMELINESS:
For a journalist, there is nothing better for them than a scoop. Taking a new, exclusive story to their editor wins points immediately. Old, recycled stories won’t cut it and real PR pros won’t jeopardise their media relationships by doing this.
PROMINENCE:
A story that connects people, brands and causes in the public eye or consciousness always do well. A great example is the enormous traction Waitrose achieved when it introduced refillable options in ONE store. The trial grabbed headlines because it fed into high profile conversation around the plastic crisis; something that’s very high on everyone’s agenda.
PROXIMITY:
The story matter needs to be close to home - how close to our daily lives is this? Is it happening close by, does it affect something the public do everyday or someone close to them?
BIZARRENESS:
Some media have specific sections for ‘bizarre’ news! The more unexpected the better. It’s the difference between a story of a dog biting a man, versus one about a man biting a dog.
CONFLICT:
Strife is sadly newsworthy. Backlash, public anger or bitter disagreement or a clash of public figures or industries makes the news. Just look at the headlines that Piers Morgan makes after most interviews on GMB!
CURRENCY:
Does the topic in the story have currency right now? For example, how many people cared about the sustainability of air travel in the 1970s versus how many care now? How many people considered the safety of everyday shopping versus how they feel now?
While these values give a guide on making headlines, navigating the news agenda isn't always straightforward. That’s why our industry exists. Businesses which think their work is newsworthy should be open to advice from PRs on evolving the narrative to take it from a nice story to a news story.
Seymour PR is a boutique agency offering a leading news generation service. The agency prides itself on understanding what makes headlines. What started in a front room eight years ago is now a high-energy business with a client roster ranging from B2B challenger brands and new retailers, to household names such as Sainsbury’s and Bupa.
To get in touch email tracey@seymourpr.co.uk or call 0203 490 4841. Follow the team on Instagram/_seymourpr and twitter/@SeymourPR.